Student Essays
Is lying a natural characteristic of the human being or a learned behavior? By Diego Forero Lies have been present throughout human history, for those lies empires have been destroyed, wars have been initiated and lives have been ended. But, what is the reason of those lies? Beyond political and economic interests, is there a reason that inspires people to lie? According to psychologist Robert Feldmand from the Massachusetts University, in most of the cases people lie when they feel that their self-esteem is being threatened, so, lies could be seen like a self-defense mechanism. However, there are other type of lies that are not used for the self protection, these have been called by psychologist Paul Eckman as the serious lies, because if those lies are discovered there could be a very hard punishment like loss of the liberty, loss of a big amount of money, a job, a relationship, or life itself. The reasons for telling these lies are varied and these are some of those: covering a trick, avoiding responsibilities, motivating people to do something that could generate benefices for us or simply because lying generates satisfaction for the person who lies. Thus, lying gives us an advantage over other people and this is the reason for the people to lie in a spontaneous way. Consequently I think that lies are proper of the human being, and that it is only necessary that the right motivation be present so that the person will start to lie. Is the Cultural Corridor Chapultepec THE BEST SOLUTION FOR THE PUBLIC SPACE? By Magaly Sinesio Montoya "We are taking advantage of the space ''above the street to create an elevated park and generate a new quality public space for meeting people" – ''Juan Pablo Maza, general ''director of FRENTE Arquitectura+Urbanismo From my point of view the public space is one of the most important elements that cities could have for these show the quality of life of those who live there. But when politicians prefer to invert instead of resolving problems and citizens' needs in most of the cases the results are not how everyone expects. The Cultural Corridor Chapultepec (CCC) is a proposal to give back Avenida Chapultepec to the pedestrians and to alternative vehicles other than automobiles and it will facilitate an active mobility between both sides (Roma Norte and Zona Rosa). I agree with this idea but why making second levels above the street or really is it the best solution? Or perhaps it is a justification for spending money in a project where the goal is added value in the surroundings and hiding the legal process. In the first place, the public space means an open space for everyone. In spite of being state propriety, its domain and use is for the population in general. Therefore, public administration is responsible for the regulation and management of public space, fixing their conditions of use and it must ensure the availability of public space for all the citizens, without distinction of any kind. For example a public space cannot be closed for a particular social class or ethnicity. Furthermore,the project could be rethought, because if the objective is to enhance connection and mobility, a project at street level that strengthens the logitudinal tours is needed. Since the construction of an elevated structure would cover an important area from the street that would generate a biggest bridge, life at the lower level would be deteriorated on the sidewalk. However, if the problems are at street level, the solution should be at this level. By this I mean that there exist easier and economical ways for resolving the problem. Alternative proposals (among others architect Alberto Kalach's)' that suggest extensions of sidewalks, elimination of vehicular traffic lanes (promoting the public transport and bicycle) as well as putting more trees avoiding ‘the heat island’ have been shown. Despite the fact that it is said that a pedestrian mall will enhance the quality of life for neighbors, civil organizations and neighbors are concerned about the gentrification of the area. In fact, Salvador Medina, an urbanist and economist reports that ‘the main objective of the project is to increase the land values and as a result there will be an increase in rents´. To be more precise, commercial centers cater to specific income brackets, which means that a class selection operates seamlessly to separate the population. So where is the public space? Personally I think that public space should be diverse, free and accessible for everyone. The fact that CCC pretends to show a new way to make public space ignoring the social context and even the most important, the opinion of people, makes us ask if the real target for their planning was enhancing this place through their design. On the other hand, public spaces do not expect self-financing, simply because their nature is not the generation of economic resources, but complementing the life of the people that not only live there, but also pass by and stay there. '''ARE LOW SALARIES THE MAIN CAUSE OF OBESITY IN MEXICO? By Miriam Cervantes Chimal The process of globalization we live has caused a series of changes that have modified our customs and habits, but mainly, our lifestyles. This has generated an increase in diseases related to the excessive consumption of food. An example of this is obesity, increasingly frequent in Mexico. It is well known that it can be produced by many genetic, metabolic, sociocultural, and even psychological factors but, what about economic factors? In this essay I´m going to try to explain why, in my personal opinion, the bad economic situation is the main cause of obesity in Mexico. In the first place, we must consider that to have a good nutrition we should have five meals a day but, being less strict, let us consider the main three: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also we have to think that meals must be balanced so, according to the nutritionist, they should include fruit, vegetables, cereals, legumes and food of animal origin. However, if we compare the prices of vegetables and meat, for example, with the minimum wage (around two thousand and one hundred pesos a month), we find it is not enough to support a family and less to nourish it. In the second place, if we go to a shopping center, we can find a great variety of prepared food but, in most of the cases, people prefer to buy that which fill up their children, including pizzas, hot dogs or family combos with fried chicken, fried chips and sodas, for a lower price than if they buy a salad. This, added to our sedentary life, becomes a cause of obesity. To conclude, I would like to say that the government will never accept these arguments in public, because they will not change neither prices nor salaries overnight, but our reality talking about obesity is not lack of information but lack of money. Should we use animals for Scientific Research? By Edith Barrios Andrade Many species of animals have been used in scientific research since the creation of medicine and other sciences. This has generated polemics because of the arising of animal rights in the last years. However, in this essay I´m going to explain why animal experiments are necessary for scientific research. First, animal models help to ensure the effectiveness and safety of new drug treatments. Through testing on animals we are able to prevent any risks of a drug that is identified and minimized before it is tested on humans during clinical trials. This helps to reduce side effects and human fatalities. Second, it is known that alternative methods of research do not simulate humans and whole body systems in an appropriate way and are not as reliable. Some diseases, such as asthma and cystic fibrosis, involve very complex physiological processes that can only be studied in a living animal. Unless there is a cell that can be studied individually and can exhibit human-like responses, animals are necessary for explaining the behavior of the disease. Also the researchers that work with animals have to do their experiments with extreme care to eliminate or minimize animal suffering. Therefore, I believe that we should use animals for scientific research because of their benefits but we have to do that with responsibility and respect. Is global warming a human fault? By Jair Servín Some people have made us think that global warming is only because of humans. However I will talk about some aspects which support the idea that global warming is a natural process of the Earth. The question is: Is global warming a human fault? Or is it just a cycle that the Earth goes through? This is a controversial issue today. However, global warming is not a human fault, in fact, it is a normal cycle for the Earth and the carbon dioxide levels are completely normal. Earth goes through long periods of warming and cooling ages, it is completely normal for the Earth. It is the Earth’s recovery cycle. There are people, as I mentioned, that wanted to make us think global warming is our fault. It is not our fault. CO2 is one of the gasses that cause the greenhouse effect. Of the 186 billion tons of carbon from CO2 that enter the Earth's atmosphere each year from all sources, only 6 billion tons are from human activity. Approximately 90 billion tons come from biologic activity in Earth's oceans and another 90 billion tons from other sources such as volcanoes and decaying land plants. On the other hand there are little actions which can be taken to make the Earth a better place to live in, like reducing, reusing and recycling. But people like Al Gore, former presidential candidate, said that it is only your, or our, fault and wants you to panic while he travels on his plane that produces CO2. To conclude, global warming is a reality but is not a human fault. In fact, it is the Earth’s cycle and the CO2 levels are completely normal. The world is not going to end due to global warming. Is global warming a serious problem for society? By Paulina Izazola Nowadays, global warming is a very controversial topic. There are divided opinions of this. Some people believe it and others not. In this essay, I’m going to talk about the effects of global warming so people can be convinced that it is a real problem. First, global warming refers to the increase of atmosphere’s and oceans’ temperature on Earth. The increase of the temperature also occurs naturally, but the major part is caused by the greenhouse gases produced by human activities, such as deforestation. Second, the world is extremely changing. Some effects that now we can see are: rising sea levels and global temperature, oceans getting warm, decrease of ice sheets and glaciers, meteorological extreme events and even more consequences. In sum, if we do not take conscience of this problem and if we do not take actions, in a few years natural resources won’t be able to sustain human life. Is Weed worse than alcohol? By Mauricio Sierra Today, society accepts that a group of friends arrives to a party and start to drink alcohol. In every celebration, a good or a bad day, it is correct go to a bar and ask for a drink but if someone says that he wants to smoke weed, the situation is different. A lot of people have a negative perception of marijuana because of its illegality. The question here is ¿that makes it worse than alcohol? In Mexico, in the second half of 2014, the consumption of cannabis was higher than alcohol, yet that doesn’t change the perception of the population. Nevertheless, a lot of people don’t know that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. Nobody has died because of smoking cannabis. Furthermore, alcohol in the body makes the people act stupidly and cannabis doesn’t, marijuana incite to reflection and calms the whole body. As well, in persons with a strong pain, cannabis helps them to calm down. On the other hand, there’s a bad side of marijuana: drug trafficking. Producing and distributing it represents many human losses. However, in my opinion, that’s not a direct consequence of cannabis; the blame is of the government and their unnecessary war against drugs. In fact a possible solution might be legalization but Mexico isn't ready for that yet. In conclusion, it seems that marijuana will have a bad perception for a long time. It is thought that cannabis is worse than alcohol just because people have wrong information about the effects and the healthy properties. If society stops generalizing and starts to look for information themselves, maybe they would know a different point of view than the one that they already have. Is it a good idea to legalize drugs? ''' By Jonathan Trapala In Mexico you live in an environment of violence due to the grown of drug trafficking. This business benefits only few people in that there is a demand of drug and because it is illegal the cost of the product is expensive. However, I would say that if the government legalizes drugs the mafia will have a trouble because there would be a legal tender as the cost of these products decreases and it ceases to be a profitable business for them. In the first place, there have always existed people that consume this substance but due to the fact that it considered illegal they sell it in the black market. This fact has generated that the product is expensive and that this business is profitable. For example in 1920 in the United States there was illegal sale of alcohol and this action generated violence and development of the black market without decreasing the consumption of alcohol. On the other hand, countries where consumption is high have generated laws for control of this substance but have not prohibited their use and sale (medicinal drugs in particular).This action has decreased the consumption of marijuana in the United States. This led to a decline in profits by the mafia; in fact there is a report of the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness which among other things says that cartels will have a less income if the United States continue legalizing drugs. There are rumors that this may be the biggest structural blow to Mexican drug trafficking since the arrival of cocaine in the 80s. In conclusion, I think it is a complicated problem because the actions that were implemented do not function and have grown violence without decreasing drug trafficking. The legalization of drugs may be it is a good solution because will affect the economic interests of the mafia. '''Can Alternative Energy Effectively Replace Fossil Fuels? By Emmanuel Ortiz Whether alternative energy sources such as biofuels, hydrogen, solar, geothermal, or nuclear energy can meet energy demands better than finite fossil fuels such as oil and coal has been hotly debated. In my opinion it is necessary to start implementing techniques of alternative energy that replace some common uses of fossil fuels, electric and industrial processes, to develop the necessary technology to substitute fossil fuels in the future. Firstly, it is essential to reduce carbon emission to the atmosphere in order to reduce global warming, because fossil fuels are inefficient, unsustainable, environmentally destructive, and the primary contributor to global climate change. For example the common issue of petroleum spilling which affect the ecosystem of several marine species is well known to cause damage and disequilibrium on the Earth. Furthermore the increase of carbon and toxic gas emissions affects directly human life, with the pollution of air. It causes respiratory diseases and also contributes to air traffic. On the other hand, it can be argued that many technological hurdles have to be overcome before alternative energy can replace even a small portion of the power provided by fossil fuels. In spite of the fact that oil and coal energy is the most economical choice, it is evident that it is necessary to start develop technology while the use of fossil fuels is reduced. Finally other kinds of energy sources can be considered, like: hydrogen, solar, geothermal, or nuclear energy which are more powerful and can increase efficient processes, but their technical applications must be explored yet. All things considered, though, it seems to me that renewable energies are a viable and immediately needed alternative to fossil fuel use that could boost the world’s economy and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources. Does reggaeton promote feminicide? By Angélica López It is known that music is a cultural product of each society. For generations, they have been creating different styles of music, reflecting each culture. I am certain that this musical creations have enriched civilization. However, what happens with the music when there are economic interests? As far as I´m concerned, music as a human expression loses its original meaning. And here appears the big problem. According to the origins of reggaeton, it arose from the mixture of Jamaican reggae and the rap in Latin America and the Caribbean. I believe that reggae music enacts peace, and maybe some greenpeace. How can this kind of music precede a genre with vulgar lyrics and musical poorness? Some people say that this music (reggaeton) contends machismo, sexism, banality, sexual promiscuity and violence. Moreover, according to scientists of Oxford University, reggaeton coarsens 70% of people who hear it, balking at their capacity to express themselves well, write well, and in general it is demonstrated that it generates brain damage. Of course, if people don’t think critically (having a healthy brain), they are not expected to have their own criteria with the lyrics of the songs, nor with the model of this environment represented by this genre. Furthermore, in Cuba, in 2012, the government banned reggaeton in the country. The reason that Orlando Vistel (president of the Cuban Institute of Music) expressed was that this music with aggressive or sexual content damages public ethics and popular sensibility. Personally, I think that reggaeton music hoists denigration to women, who can be conceived as objects. Subjected to be treated as a sex doll, and with this premise she can be used and discarded at the whim of the male. Obviously, people don´t value objects. About this last point, I´m not sure, because nowadays, most people value objects and not human beings. But this is another contentious issue. Back to the point and finally, what I mean is that certainly, reggaeton music is related to feminicide. And it is a source of the ideology of sexism. How to know that a piece of art is an original object? By Pablo Estevez Art work has several characteristics to determine that those things could be considered original. In the art market we can see many fake art works been sold as original thing. I believe that all the fake objects should not be accepted in the art market, those fake articles move in a bad arrangement of the art world. The main argument could be remove copy pieces of art from galleries, appropriations and paraphrases as part of the art market, in that sense they became problems for the real author or art works. The references to develop the copyright reinforce the artist rights as a protection issue. The copyright law determined by the materials, technical support and the signature of the author could be called an original object. But, other artists such as Duchamp an And Warhol made several copies of other works of art, like drawing a mustache to a Mona Lisa photo or painting food cans. The author has to say that those works are original; in this century all objects can be appreciated as original ones. The industrial fragments and found objects are considered art pieces. For that reason statement artist writing is an essential part to develop the idea of original painting or sculpture. In that sense it is difficult to give approval sentences that describe an art work. In our times the fake objects are part of our lives, people would like to have those things such as watches, cloth or gadgets even they know that are fake ones. For those reasons, we have to assume live with fake things or originals. The final observation could be the cost of objects that can be cheaper sometimes for the fake, but we can believe that those are originals in that case we pay much money to acquire them. Should people eat meat or not? By Mariana Landgrave Nowadays more and more people stop eating meat and this has become more and more controversial. Some people say that they do not want to eat more meat because they are against animal abuse. But in my opinion it is necessary to eat meat because it is part of the evolution and help us to be more healthy. First, if you do not eat meat you will probably have problems in your development, because the bonds and muscles need protein to grow, it is very dangerous for children not to eat meat. The academy of research of the U.S.A has written that meat is important for evolution. 30 % of people who do not eat meat have a lower IQ and they have difficulties and problems having energy during the day, in consequence they are less effective in their jobs. At the same there is the extreme. It is true that we eat more meat than we need and that it is dangerous because we are collapsing the plantet. There is not enough space for all the meat that we demand, it is not normal to eat meat every day. I stress that it is important to eat meat but not in excess. For example if you eat meat all days your muscles begin to atrophy and in a few years it is going to become more difficult to move your body. Finally it is not good to follow a fashion if you are not well informed, veganism has become part of the trending topics and a lot of people want to follow that way of acting. If you do not know the consequence of being vegan you should not be vega; that decision should be taken with good information an according to your age and your gender. All in all I believe that humans are omnivorous so we need to eat meat to survive and to fulfill all our duties, but I also agree that is not necessary eat meat every day or in the quantities that we already are eating, we need to learn how to measure our consumption of meat, but I am certain that we need meat at less the minimum in our diets. IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONSUMPTION OF HEROIN AND VIH? By Ixchel Rangel VIH is a virus that attacks the cells that are responsible for protecting the body from foreign agents, not having these cells then people become more susceptible to contracting various infections. It has long studied the relationship between the person who uses heroin and probability exists that they contract VIH until recently no one knew for sure if there really was a relationship or were other factors that determined the development of this disease as serious this happened at the lack of information and because a relationship between heroin use and development of VIH was not . It has now been shown that really exists a relationship between these two events. To begin with the topic is important to know that the spread of VIH in people who use heroin is given for the use and reuse of contaminated syringes that are shared among people who have the habit by this drug so the VIH is spread more and more each time. People who perform such activities are not aware of the damage it can cause. VIH is not the only disease that can be spread by this situation lately has been increasing the spread of Hepatitis C that is other disease that damages the liver and compromises the lives of people. Another of the relationship between VIH and heroin use is that these people tend to have many sexual partners without using contraceptives. In conclusion it is very important to inform people of the risks they run mainly adolescents and prevent the use of this type of drugs as well as unsafe sexual practices. It is important to take care of our people and the health of others. Is Taoism the religion that you want for yourself? By Aline Ovando Hernández What makes you choose one religion over others? Is it because of the rules they live by, their beliefs or the hope that everything will be fine? Taoism offers (to everyone that wants to pick it up) the ''Tao ''(the way) for yourself, and no one else, to live and reach the happiness that other religions offer to you. Taoism is not based on definitions or roughly actions. Taoism can be considered as a set of beliefs, attitudes and practices towards the service and living to your own nature. So there is not a settle guide to find your Tao, even though there is a lot of books talking about Taoism (e.g. the “Tao Te Ching” book translated by many people), you can choose what teachings you want to apply to your own Tao. The practice of Taoism also includes a process of healing. You will find out that the problems that are always bothering you come easy to solve or to live with them. As part of your essence you have to accept the little imperfection in your nature and deal with it. If you want your body to become healthy you can do some sport, it is not necessary to do yoga or tai chi to say you are a follower of the Tao, you only need to choose the right one to your essence. Your own approval naturally will bring a connection with the world that surrounds you. Even more your attitudes will make that other people accept their own nature without doing anything to persuade them. You can share your Tao, yet knowing that they have their personal Tao and could be different from yours and this person can choose if taking something from your Tao or not. In sum I believe Taoism is more than a religion, it’s a way to live where you choose to do what makes you happy and bring health to your body and mind. It will create a balance between your surroundings and your nature. Your Tao is personal and if it suits you there is no reason to find a deeper meaning to explain it to others, or having a roughly definition. Taoism will help you to grow up as a being.